Praelion

Last Updated: 02/04/2026

Name: Praelion

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Near-Human

Homeworld: Unknown (Japrael Sector)

Coloration: Black and White

Biology: The Praelions were a species of humanoids that mostly resembled Humans, especially seemingly from the neck down. They had the same overall height, weight, and frame as the average human, with two legs, two arms ending in five-fingered hands, and one head. One major difference, however, was that the species skin was almost solid black in coloration, possessing a bit of a reflective sheen. They also had distinctive heads, with elongated craniums and large brows. The skin on their head was covered in evenly spaced lighter bumps, with the largest seeming to be on a ridge that ran from the bridge of their nose to the center of their brow then up and over their heads. On either side of this ridge at the very top of their skulls were two large black lobes that may have actually been globs of hair dangling down behind them, though this remains to be clearly depicted. The species also possessed sunken cheeks and pointed ears that jutted almost directly back. Praelions were capable of growing facial hair, which could be black and white in coloration.

Lore: Though we have some clues regarding their status, we still know very little about the Praelions at present. We know they hailed from somewhere within the Japrael Sector within the Inner Rim portion of the galaxy known as “The Slice.” They had been discovered some time prior to the late High Republic Era, and had become members of the Galactic Republic, with their Senator, Axut Klem, representing their entire sector by 132 BBY. They seemingly held much power during this time as Klem was one of only a handful of influential senators chosen to be a part of the Senate Tribunal that year following the murders of a number of members of the Jedi Order. Unfortunately, over the next century or so, the Praelions would apparently lose at least some of their political influence as, during the Clone Wars, the sector was instead represented by the Human Senator Mina Bonteri from Onderon, seceding from the Republic to ally themselves with the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Continuity: Though the Japrael System did originate within Star Wars Legends, the Praelions themselves are a Canon-only concept, coming directly from the live action series “Star Wars: The Acolyte” and identified within it’s accompanying visual guide.

Unexplored: There’s definitely some stuff here that demands further exploration, so let’s touch on a few of the questions that arise when discussing this species. This includes, when were they first discovered, what was their pre-discovery history and evolution like, how long did it take for them to become members of the Galactic Republic, and how quickly did they rise to prominence? How truly influential were they among the Republic and specifically the Senate, and what caused them to seemingly lose some of that prominence leading into the Clone Wars? Were they ever involved in any future major galactic events, and were they well known for anything in particular, good or bad? And what other distinct worldbuilding traits, whether it be traditions, exports, religions, politics, philosophies, languages, diets, anatomical traits, technologies, habits, or any of the other concepts we commonly discuss, might help set them apart from the numerous other humanoid species across the galaxy? Additionally, getting some new good depictions would be very nice, regardless of the medium, as we only have a couple of difficult to discern images to work with at the moment.

Additional Notes: This is a species full of potential that has just not been realized yet, though given how newly established they are as of the initial writing of this article, there’s plenty of time to sort of flesh them out more in future media, and maybe even tie their history closer to the iconic planet within their sector that is Onderon. It’s very interesting how different their brief appearance within “The Acolyte” is from what’s shown in the VG, but I guess that’s just a result of the angles and lightings. Still, I’ll include an image below of what we could make out of them in the show for context and contrast. Hopefully, now given a name, a home sector, and some lore, they can really start to appear in other projects, and originating from a live action show definitely helps with a species’ capacity to return, though let’s hope they don’t try to distance themselves from the Acolyte designs like they seemingly have with other aspects of the cancelled series.

Reference Images: